“They can’t go anywhere. They can’t run away from you,” he told The Hill. “You can get a lot of work done.”

After the election, Trump suggested he might not use Air Force One, calling it a “step down in every way” from his own private jet. He railed against the price of the plane and floated canceling future orders.

But for a president who sees himself as the nation’s dealmaker in chief, Air Force One gives him a unique perk and a chance to schmooze with lawmakers. Trump has since praised America’s most famous plane, calling it “great,” and said after talks with contractor Boeing that he had found ways to cut costs.

Trump is not unique in using Air Force One to get to know legislators.

“Certainly he’s learning that some of the perks and amenities of the presidency, including Air Force One, are very valuable to presidents in lobbying to members of Congress and impressing people,” said Kenneth Walsh, a longtime White House reporter and author of “Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes.” “He does understand that.”

Trump has his own entrance near the front of the plane and a private office with its own communications equipment. Behind his desk is a window with the president’s personal seal. Some changes mark the new president: Televisions that were usually tuned to ESPN during the Obama administration now air Fox News or Fox Business Network.

Trump on occasion has also turned up in the press cabin to chat with reporters. In July, on a flight to Paris, Trump took questions on the record for an hour. During another Q&A, a photo of him in the press cabin next to a television airing a “Star Wars” movie went viral.

Walsh said Trump on Air Force One was “an extension of his salesman, dealmaker persona.”

“It’s probably one of the best places that presidents can make deals,” Walsh said. “Because, as I say, they have all the advantages.”

Diaz-Balart and Rubio had long pressed Trump to roll back some of Obama’s Cuba policies. And they took a victory lap by accompanying Trump to Miami in June when he announced tighter restrictions on travel and business with Cuba.

Rubio, one of Trump’s toughest rivals in the Republican presidential primary, had been on Air Force One before, flying to Florida in March for an event on school choice.

“It works both ways,” said Walsh. “It’s such a high-visibility moment for members of Congress.”

The four New York Republicans were also aboard for one of the more momentous flights of Trump’s presidency, when Priebus was removed as chief of staff.

Trump flew to Long Island to discuss efforts to crack down on the MS-13 gang, joined by King, Donovan, Zeldin and Collins.

Priebus was on board, as well as then-communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who had earlier accused the former Republican National Committee chairman of leaking White House conversations. The flight came a day after Scaramucci’s profanity-laden interview with The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza went viral.

The lawmakers said the Air Force One televisions were running Scaramucci’s quotes about Priebus.

“It was kind of awkward in the cabin, and everyone was trying to ignore the television and not acknowledging what was being broadcast,” Donovan told The Hill.

“That was pretty tense. I mean, they didn’t say a word to each other,” King said.

The lawmakers didn’t realize that Priebus was fired until their arrival back in Washington.